The Hague, 14 March 2024 – The Restitutions Committee has advised the State Secretary for Culture and Media to restitute the oil painting Fighting Card Players (unknown artist) to the heirs of the Jewish antiques dealer Meijer Marcus van Praag (1871-1943). The painting is part of the Netherlands Art Property (NK) Collection and is currently in het Dutch National Collection Centre in Amersfoort.

The Committee concluded on the grounds of the investigation conducted by the Restitution Expert Centre (ECR) that the painting came from the collection of the Jewish antiques dealer Meijer Marcus van Praag. It also became sufficiently plausible that possession of the painting was lost involuntarily in 1941 as a result of circumstances directly connected with the Nazi regime.

Research revealed that Van Praag sold the painting from his private collection in October 1941 to the art collector A.C.N. van der Sloot. The sale was connected to measures taken by the occupying forces against Jewish citizens and arose out of necessity.

The State Secretary for Culture and Media has adopted the Restitutions Committee’s advice and will restitute the painting Fighting Card Players to the heirs of Meijer Marcus van Praag.

Relevant recommendation and summary: Van Praag